Internet beats TV, in 2020 it is the first advertising medium

For the first time in Italy, the Internet channel is the first advertising medium in front of the TV, which in 2020 stops at 41% (3.25 billion) according to a report by Osservatori.net of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano. This overtaking, predictable but accelerated by the dynamics linked to Covid-19, is a clear sign of how digital can be an opportunity for further growth and new momentum in our country, not only for the media but for the entire economy. In 2020 the overall media industry in Italy recorded a strong negative sign (-6%), mainly due to a significant decrease (-8%) in revenues from advertising, while the decrease in sales of advertising was more contained. paid content (-4%). A drastic decline for this market, similar also in other countries and mainly due to the pandemic, which however closed the year better than had been assumed in the chaotic first months of Covid-19. In this panorama, among all the various components, Internet advertising however recorded a positive sign, overturning the initial estimates above all thanks to a last quarter that was not affected at all by the limitations due to the second wave of the pandemic. Its growth in value continues, reaching 3.45 billion euros in deposits, but above all it continues its climb in market share, reaching 43% of total vehicles. In a year of full health emergency, many small and medium-sized businesses have had to “reinvent themselves” and have done so above all by exploiting the opportunities offered by digital channels. For example, as regards communication in particular, many of their investments have been diverted to the Internet channel, especially on the large OTT platforms, allowing them to reach large audiences of users with a relatively low cost. Furthermore, the “contamination” of the Internet model continues even outside the online, within the more traditional media. Television will certainly quickly return to pre-pandemic collection levels, but the real growth area for this medium is that relating to Addressable TV, that is the method of delivering advertisements on televisions connected to the network that allows for the offering of personalized commercials. in terms of content and formats, to a group of segmented television users, thanks to the use of data on a geographical, demographic, behavioral basis and in some cases on the basis of the combination of proprietary and third-party data. The increase in availability and use of On Demand content on connected TVs, further accelerated by the current context, and the next transition to DVB-T2 which will lead to an update of the television fleet in many families (and therefore to a greater diffusion of Smart Tv) will be additional oxygen for the growth of this component. Even on the Out of Home (OOH) signage front, digitization continues at a fast pace. The medium that has probably suffered the most from the restrictions has in the last two years invested in the replacement and new installation of digital systems. The digital component (DOOH) could in fact already account for a quarter of the entire OOH collection at the end of 2021. As mentioned, in the last year we have witnessed a general increase in the use of digital media content and consumer spending for these services, bringing this market to a total value of over 620 million euros. Subscriptions to Video On Demand, Music and News services have seen significant growth over the past year. A further important leap forward is also expected for 2021, especially thanks to the Video component which, thanks to a sporting offer increasingly present on online services (and less present on “classic” Pay TV), will certainly considerably increase number of subscribers. In addition to the trend of the sector, the many trends and phenomena that overlap in this period and that every player (both in terms of supply and demand) cannot avoid should not be forgotten. In particular: the In-Housing phenomenon, ie the fact that several brand companies have begun to internalize many of the skills of creativity, media-planning and media-buying usually delegated to external agencies; the increasingly upcoming cookieless scenario that will strongly impact user tracking and the related possibility of personalized advertising planning. The world of Influencer Marketing, which is not properly part of the world of investments in Media spaces, but which is increasingly an important tool within the marketing funnel; the technological evolution related to 5G which, in addition to being one of the causes of the next television switch-off (which will serve to free frequencies for ultra-fast mobile telephony), can be directly exploited to improve the transmission of both editorial and media content advertising.